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Nagem Hatab
Nagem Hatab was an Iraqi who was beaten to death in Camp Whitehorse shortly after the Invasion of Iraq. Hatab is said to have been a Ba'ath party member. Arrest Hatab was arrested in a bazaar where he was trying to sell a US Army issue M16 rifle. The serial number of this rifle showed it was one issued to a member of the unit that included captured Army Private Jessica Lynch. United States Marines who were guarding the prisoners at Camp Whitehorse believed that his possession of the rifle implicated Hatab in Lynch's capture. Death in custody Hatab was in custody for only a few days. Hatab was interrogated by a military intelligence officer before he died. He was also looked at by a medic who stated that Hatab appeared to have suffered a mild heart attack. The medic also suggested Hatab might be faking it. In the days before he died Hatab was observed being unsteady on his feet. He was observed spontaneously falling over and landing on a bale of razor wire. He appeared dazed. He had completely lost control of his bowels, and his clothes were covered in excrement. Major Clarke Paulus ordered Corporal Christian Hernandez to haul Hatab over to where he could be hosed off. He was then to strip Hatab naked, burn his clothes, and tie him to a stake, and leave him outside, so he wouldn't foul the clothes of other prisoners. Hatab was left naked out in the desert, limp and incapacitated in the blazing sun. At midnight it was noticed Hatab was dead.http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_ad49df8b-c228-514a-b8f6-ff8b2f3a683d.html Investigations A post-mortem was conducted on Hatab. It determined that he died from a broken hyoid bone, a very small bone, near the larynx. Hernandez had been ordered to haul Hatab by his throat, when he dragged him to where he could be hosed off. General James Mattis, the officer who was to cause great controversy by giving a speech where he talked about how it was "fun to shoot some people", dropped all charges against Hernandez. Initially eight Marines were under investigation for their roles in Hatab's death. But Pittman and Paulus were the only two to be court martialed. The post-mortem had found a large bruise that was probably caused by Pittman's kick. Pittman was cleared of assault, but was convicted of dereliction of duty and abuse of prisoners. He was reduced of rank to private and was sentenced to 60 days of hard labor. When it came time for Paulus's court martial Hatab's body had been lost. His body was to have been shipped to where more experienced pathologists could do an autopsy. But the crate containing his body wasn't shipped; instead, it was left on the tarmac, in the hot sun. Gases built up to such an extent that the crate exploded, spraying his putrefied remains out. The pictures taken of Hatab, during his investigation, could not be found. See also * Manadel al-Jamadi Iraqi prisoner who was tortured to death at Abu Ghraib prison * Abed Hamed Mowhoush died while in U.S. custody following a 16-day period of detention that included intense beatings and the use of violent and illegal interrogation techniques * Baha Mousa Iraqi hotel receptionist who was kicked and beaten to death whilst in British army custody * Satar Jabar subjected to severe physical and psychological torture by members of the U.S. military References External links *Iraqi detainee's death hangs over Marine unit, Signonsandiego, May 30, 2004 *Chilling precursor to Abu Ghraib: Long before scandal erupted, Nasiriyah death ruled a homicide, Houston Chronicle, July 31, 2004 *Hearing resumes for officer who ran Iraqi prison, Marine Corps Times, October 14, 2004 Category:Extrajudicial prisoners killed while in United States custody Category:Iraqi torture victims Category:Iraqi people who died in prison custody Category:Deaths by beating Category:Year of death missing Category:Prisoners who died in United States military detention